Winner - CRT Christian Book of the Year, 2023

The New Testament tells us very little about Lydia, a seller of purple cloth who was living in Philippi when she met the apostle Paul on his second missionary journey. And yet she is considered the first recorded convert to Christianity in Europe.

In her second work of fiction, Biblical scholar and popular author and speaker Paula Gooder tells Lydia's story - who she was, the life she lived and her first-century faith - and in doing so opens up Paul's letter to the Philippians, giving a sense of the cultural and historical pressures that shaped Paul's thinking, and the faith of the early church.

Written in the gripping style of Gerd Theissen's The Shadow of the Galilean, and similarly rigorously researched, this is a book for everyone and anyone who wants to engage more deeply and imaginatively with Paul's theology - from one of the UK's foremost New Testament scholars.

[Lydia] is the perfect mix: a winsome story, rigorous and illuminating scholarship, with spiritual insight and depth. It had me thinking, crying, and rejoicing. -- Eve Poole, Public theologian and writer
Gooder has a rare gift for translating scholarship into page-turning storytelling ... This book positively crackles with hope, faith, and love. -- Rachel Mann * The Church Times *
Engaging and enjoyable, Lydia will prove to be informative and inspiring for readers who love stories and appreciate biblical scholarship and historical insights. -- SONYA VANDERVEEN FEDDEMA * The Banner *

Dr Paula Gooder is Canon Chancellor at St Paul's Cathedral and a writer and lecturer in Biblical Studies. Her research areas focus on the writings of the apostle Paul, with a particular focus on 2 Corinthians and on Paul's understanding of the body. Her passion is to ignite people's enthusiasm for reading the Bible today, by presenting the best of biblical scholarship in an accessible and interesting way.